Boryla helped Utah Stars shine bright

Vince Boryla always had the Midas touch.

In Denver, The Rocky Mountain News called him "The Action Man."

Boryla teamed with the late Bill Daniels to bring Utah its first professional basketball team, the Utah Stars, in June 1970. They purchased the American Basketball Association's Los Angeles Stars and brought the franchise to Salt Lake City to play in the Salt Palace. And indeed, the franchise had Boryla's fingerprints all over it.

In his five years with the Stars, they won the 1971 ABA championship, three Western Division crowns and a return to the ABA championship series, where the Stars were runners-up to the New York Nets in 1974.

He always had the upper hand in trades, bringing the likes of Red Robbins, Ron Boone, Glen Combs and Jimmy Jones to the Stars.

Boryla, an All-American at both Notre Dame and Denver, later coached and played for the New York Knicks. He coached and played with former BYU All-America Mel Hutchins, Dick and Al McGuire, and Ernie Vandeweghe, who was Mel's brother-in-law.

After he left the Stars, Boryla was president/general manager with the Denver Nuggets for three years under Red McCombs' ownership. Under Boryla's guidance, the Nuggets were in the NBA Western Division finals two of his three years. Remembering his background with Vandeweghe, Boryla made a six-player trade with Portland, which brought Ernie's son, Kiki, the former UCLA All-America, to Denver. Also included in the trade for the Nuggets was Calvin Natt, whose brother, Kenny, is the assistant coach with the Jazz.

As much success as Boryla had on the basketball court, he earned millions off it from buying real estate, starting in the 1940s. At one time, the Denver School District purchased some of his land for a high school.

Another one of his real-estate investments is paying off even now. Coors Field, which houses the Denver Rockies, was built one-half block from his property. So what did the astute Boryla do? He used his Midas touch and turned it into a parking lot.

"The Lord has blessed me," said the 73-year-old Boryla. "You have to take the down times with the good times. I owe everything I have done in life to my high school (Washington High, in East Chicago, Indiana) coach Doc Irwing. He taught what to do in life both on and off the court."

Boryla and his late wife, Cappie, raised five children. Their son Mike was an All-America quarterback for Stanford and played five years with the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles. Mike is now a Denver-based lawyer.

Boryla and his bride of 11 years, Mary Jo, a former Utah Stars' secretary, live in a condo in Englewood, Colo. He is still active, swimming three-fourths of a mile twice a week. He has had four knee operations and two replacements.

"We're just enjoying life, but we had some great times in Salt Lake City," Boryla said. "I still have an awful lot of friends living there."

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E-mail: torch@uswest.net